Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney struck out on an unprecedented tour of the country’s industrial heart Friday to take the pulse of the Midlands at a moment of economic uncertainty after the Brexit vote.

The aim of Carney’s visits to Nottingham, Derby, Dudley, Leicester and Birmingham was to hear from people who might not ordinarily be in communication with the governor and, in turn, have him explain what the central bank is trying to do to improve their economic lot.

The weather in central England may have been unusually sunny on this mid-October day, but the task certainly wasn’t easy. For one thing, most people POLITICO spoke with in the streets of Birmingham didn’t have a clue who Carney is — or what he does for a living.

“I don’t know what the central bank does for us,” said Nicola Gabor, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I mean people say they help homeowners that have mortgages get better deals from their bank, but I’m at the stage where I can’t even afford getting a mortgage, so it doesn’t really touch me.”

Nonetheless, many seem to hold an instinctive suspicion that their problems are far from the concerns of national policymakers in London.

“What happens in London doesn’t make much of a difference here, you know,” said Tom, a self-employed construction worker who declined to give his last name. “Since the referendum, every politician has been talking about saving British businesses from economic ruin and the banks from leaving. But how about workers? Are we not part of the economy?”

Against such cynicism, Carney, who was accompanied by his deputies Jon Cunfliffe, Ben Broadbent, Minouche Shafik, and Sam Woods, wanted people to know that the BoE doesn’t just look out for big banks in the City of London at the expense of ordinary households.

At a town hall discussion in Birmingham that rounded out the day, he told local business people, teachers, researchers, and trade union representatives, “we’re here to make sure the economic stimulus gets through to the real economy … we want to make sure the system dampens shocks rather than amplify them like it did in 2008 so that you can do the things that matter and don’t have to worry.”

He also wanted them to know that the BoE won’t let politicians bully the bank from doing what is right.

Just two weeks ago at the Tory party conference that was also held in Birmingham, Prime Minister Theresa May said the BoE’s low interest rate policy had “bad side effects” for ordinary people’s savings.

But in answering a question about such accusations, Carney fired back: “We have a clear mandate and a broad remit to achieve financial stability, which is given to us by the parliament. We must be held to account, we testify before parliament regularly, but we are independent … we will not take instructions on policy from the politicians.”

Since the Brexit vote, it is clear the challenges facing the U.K.’s monetary policymakers have become increasingly vexing with forecasters anticipating subdued growth, plummeting sterling, higher inflation, and shaken investor confidence.

Thanks to Brexit uncertainties, “growth is slower than it would otherwise be,” he said. “But the balance between access to credit and monetary stimulus allows for people not to worry about the availability of finance and keeps borrowing costs where they should be.”

Despite the bankers-speak, Carney wanted to reassure listeners that his team is acting “for the good of the U.K.’s people.”

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